Attaching device



A. W. HARR ATTACHING DE AAAAAAAAAA N EILED JUNE 6,1918. 1,427,953. PatentedSept. 5, 1922.

"I".- A A I ZZUG7 tO 7 x s UNITED STATES PATENT oar-"Ice.

Patented Sept 5, 1922.

ARTHUR W. HARRISON, OF WINTHROP,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO PORCELAIN APPLIANCE CORPORATION, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE. i l

ATTACHING DEVICE.

Application filed June 6, 1918. Serial No. 238,559.

To all 'wkomit may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. HARRI- SON, a citizen of the United States and resident of Winthrop, in the county oi Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have in vented. certain ,new and useful Improvements in Attaching Devices, of which the following is a specification.

. produced, one contemplating the swedging- This invention relates to means for holding, in assembled condition, apertured members such as knobs for electrical work,- and attaching members such as nails. or screws, so that the assembled devices can be shipped and sold and eventually fixed in desired positions by the workmen, the complementarymembers. of each device retaining such relative positions that the workman will not be obliged to search 'for and assemble co operating members. v

Several devices for this purpose have been or striking up of portions of the nails or screws, and another the employment of washers slipped onto the nails or screws. So ar as I am aware, every prior device for this purpose has required that-some operation be performed after the attaching member has been passed through the aperture of the othermember.

The object of my invention is to provide devices of the character described which, as the result of simply assemblin them by passing the attaching members t rough the apertures of the cooperating or complementary members, will remain assembled during shipment and handling without requiri'ng any further operation or the application of any third member. I

To this end, my invention consists in the device or combination of members substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

Of the accompanying drawings Figure l is vertical section of a device embodying my invention; a

Figure 2 is a plan of another form;

Figure 3 is a vertical section of the form illustrated in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section of a two-piece knob;

Figure 5 is an elevation of the same with the two pieces in juxtaposition and showing the support in section.

Figure 6 is an illustration of another way i In Figure 1,1 show a porcelain. member A having an aperture (1 for the reception "of a nail a which however might be a larges or springs out so that its tip engages the base of theporcelain member and effects retention of the porcelain member and the attaching member in proper but loose rela- 1 tive positions. 'Of course the elastic portion of the attaching member-is normally of greater diameter than the aperture or passage a. 1

It will be'seen that the head of the screw or nail, as well as theelastic portion thereof are of greater transverse dimension than the passage (1 so that the attaching member can not be accidentally separated from memher A.

If desired a washer a leather or other I suitable material may be em loyed under the head of the attaching mem er, the chief object of this being to prevent cracking of the member A by the head of the attaching member. This form of my invention is particularly useful as a hanger for the wires of pictures although of course member A may be of any desired form or material or used for any desired purpose.

In-Figures 2 and 3 I illustrate a one-piece insulator B having a skirt 6 and having passageways b b and lips b b to keep the wires in place. Passage b receives nail b which has elastic protuberances or shoulders a as in Figure l, and the relative transverse dimensions of the passage 6 and the head ing as in Figure 1.

In Figure 4C l show a knob comprising two complementary pieces or portions D and D, the latter having a skirt (Z, a passage d, an insulating boss (Z and two grooves d and (Z to receive wires (l (l Portion D has two grooves (Z and d to receive wires d d (Fig. 5) and recess d to receive boss (P, and

also has passage d in registry with passage (1'. Whether the device be as illustrated in Figures 1 or 3 or Q, I may employ only one elastic protuberance a as shown in Figure e instead of two as shown in Figures 1 and 8. In Figure 5 the two pieces of the knob are in juxtaposition engaging the wires d d while in Figure 4 the two pieces are separated for manipulation of the wires. E isthe support which may be a wall or ceiling, for example. In Figure 5 it will be clear that the boss d insulates the nail from the wires 02 d It will thus be seen that in Figures 4- and 5 the two pieces are not only held against undesired separation, although they may be freely moved somewhat relatively for manipulation of the Wires, but the two pieces are prevented from separation from the attaching member shown in these figures as anail. I do not limit myself to constructing the attaching member with an elastic protuberance consisting of one or more backwardly extending portions the ends of which are free. As shown in Figure 6, the attaching nail or screw C may be split at the proper point as at 0, and spread so as to form two elastic surfaces 0' 0. p

In all the forms so far' described the washer for the head of the attaching memher will be placed in position and then the attaching member will be pushed through the passage or aperture, the elastic portion 4 or protuberance yielding sufficiently to permit this to be done, the said elastic protuberance being capable of then expanding to a point beyond the diameter of the passage.

Swedging or striking up of a portion of an attaching member results in forming an inelastic protuberance which, in order to pass through the aperture of an insulating member, must not exceed the diameter of such aperture, or else it must be formed or enlarged after assembling. In one case it is necessary to add a third member such as a washer of some kind, and in the other case mechanical treatment is required after assembling. It will be understood that by my invention no treatment after assembling is required, and the addition of no third memher is necessary.

If a porcelain member should be broken, it is possible to replace it with an unbroken one. For instance if a cap member D is struck by the hammer of the Workman when .driving the nail, he can pull the nail out pose described, the combination with a vitreous member having a passage, of a rigid attaching member extending through said passage, said attaching member having a head at one end and a point at the other end and also having an integral prong of elastic material extending with its tip toward the said head, and the attaching member at the point where said prong is located being normally larger than said passage, the vitreous member being loosely retained on the at taching membenby said head and prong.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

ARTHUR W. HARRISON. 

